The Mexican (2001)

56% of critics liked it
(129 reviews)
47% of users liked it
(118,961 ratings)

A clumsy criminal is put in a position where he not only has to save his own skin, but that of his girlfriend in this comedy with strong undercurrents of romance. Jerry Welbach (Brad Pitt) is a low-level Mafia "mechanic" whose ineptitude is countered by frequent (but unpredictable) bursts of dumb… More A clumsy criminal is put in a position where he not only has to save his own skin, but that of his girlfriend in this comedy with strong undercurrents of romance. Jerry Welbach (Brad Pitt) is a low-level Mafia "mechanic" whose ineptitude is countered by frequent (but unpredictable) bursts of dumb luck. Jerry's girlfriend Samantha (Julia Roberts) wants him to get out of the business, and after his latest blunder lands capo Arnold Margolese (Gene Hackman) in jail, so does mid-level crime kingpin Bernie Nayman (Bob Balaban). But Bernie insists that Jerry do one last errand for the mob before they let him find employment elsewhere -- he has to go to Mexico and recover a rare and very valuable pistol, which is said to be cursed. While Samantha objects to Jerry taking the assignment, he isn't in much of a position to argue; Jerry heads south of the border, while Samantha, in a huff, sets out for Las Vegas. Once in Mexico, Jerry finds the pistol easily enough, but making his way back to the States proves to be an unexpected challenge. Meanwhile, Jerry's superiors want insurance that he'll return with the goods, so they hire Leroy (James Gandolfini), a hitman, to kidnap Samantha and hold her hostage until Jerry comes back. However, Samantha and Leroy quickly strike up a friendship, and she soon learns the gunman has a sensitive side he doesn't show to the world -- along with a few other secrets. The Mexican marked the first screen pairing for mega-stars Julia Roberts and Brad Pitt -- though, given the film's narrative arc, they play only a handful of scenes together. The film was directed by Gore Verbinski, who won awards for his work in commercials before breaking through with the quirky family comedy Mouse Hunt. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: R, 2 hr. 3 min.
Directed By: Gore Verbinski
Written By: J. H. Wyman
Genres: Drama, Action & Adventure, Comedy

In Theaters: Mar 2, 2001 Wide
On DVD: Aug 7, 2001
Studio: Dreamworks Distribution LLC

Critic Reviews

Peter Travers, Rolling Stone
Promises a road movie of blissful comic romance and delivers a series of dramatic dead ends.
Joel Siegel, Good Morning America
Two word review: El Paso.
J. Hoberman, Village Voice
Intermittently appealing, fundamentally dysfunctional.
Desson Thomson, Washington Post
At no point do Jerry and Samantha seem romantically connected at all.
Nell Minow, Common Sense Media
An interesting mess for older teens and up.
Rob Gonsalves, eFilmCritic.com
It just sits there, doing nothing that a competent made-for-cable movie with C-list stars couldn't do.
Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com
First pairing of Hollywood's beloved stars Brad Pitt and Julia Roberts is a mixed blessing in this mishmash of a movie, in which different genres and styles strenuously compete for our attention.
Jordan Hiller, Bangitout.com
The Mexican coasts along throwing at us double-agent/double-crossings intrigue, witty one-liners, and some evocative scenery.
Christopher Smith, Bangor Daily News (Maine)
Habla usted mediocre movie?
Jeffrey Overstreet, Looking Closer
The Mexican fails because the entire movie changes its tone from one moment to the next.
James Plath, Reel.com
All three principals seem to let it all hang out for this film, but if anybody sizzles together, it's Roberts and Gandolfini
Judith Egerton, Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY)
I left hoping that I never see either of them again in anything.
David Nusair, Reel Film Reviews
Gandolfini is especially good as the hitman with a heart of gold.
Tom Grealis, RTE Interactive (Dublin, Ireland)
The final concern for the audience is not how the film will end (you won't care), but when?

Read all 14 critic reviews

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

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Featured Audience Ratings

Thomas J

For all the bad things I had heard about this movie.... I have to disagree. It is not the best movie.... but it is good! Worth seeing!
Lady D

Not quite the film I as expecting, so pleasantly surprised, Im not the biggest fan of Julia Roberts, but enjoyed this film regardless. For me, the best role in this was that of James Gandolfini, perhaps a typecast sort of role for him but with a great twist.
Conner R

A fun movie that never got the credit it deserves. The pairing of Brad Pitt and Julia Roberts was perfect, they have a great on screen chemistry. The story was extremely interesting and was original, not an average romantic comedy at all.
Anthony L

I expected more. Only good thing in this movie was the cool car and a gay Gandolfini!
Film C

it was ok quite funny really
Candy R

Brad plays a hopeless fool who always gets into trouble. He does one last job in Mexico with disastrous consquences. While Julia gets kidnapped by a hitman. Brad and Julia have great chemistry.
Dean M

Director Gore Verbinski loosens up with a freewheeling style appropriate for this shaggy dog story. Despite Julia Roberts' grating presence, the film mostly works thanks to a winning turn from James Gandolfini.
xGary X

Strangely watchable road movie cum crime drama that tries so hard to be a quirky Tarantino-lite flick that it's almost a spoof of itself, but Pitt and Roberts work surprisingly well together, and James Gandolfini is always worth watching.
Luke B

Pitt and Roberts have no chemistry, even when they are on screen togetehr for about 2 minutes. Tries to replicate the comedic/violent gang elements of Pulp Fiction and Lock, Stock... Fails miserably. Galdofini's character is interesting and actually brings a little bit of emotion… More
Pitt and Roberts have no chemistry, even when they are on screen togetehr for about 2 minutes. Tries to replicate the comedic/violent gang elements of Pulp Fiction and Lock, Stock... Fails miserably. Galdofini's character is interesting and actually brings a little bit of emotion to the film. It isn't enough though.
Mouhannad S

The story centres around a guy who, by misfortune, works for organised crime. His last job for them is to collect an antique gun from a guy in a bar in Mexico. His girlfriend, none too pleased with his trip to Mexico, dumps him before he leaves. What follows is a mixture of comedy,… More
The story centres around a guy who, by misfortune, works for organised crime. His last job for them is to collect an antique gun from a guy in a bar in Mexico. His girlfriend, none too pleased with his trip to Mexico, dumps him before he leaves. What follows is a mixture of comedy, caper movie and a vicious satire on relationship therapy culture. Brad Pitt and Julia Roberts are excellent in their roles, particularly Pitt, who manages to give his character no cool or clue. James Gandolfini steals the show as a sensitive hitman who doesn't want to be "defined" by what he does. While parts of the film are hilarious there are dark moments in there too. While The Mexican isn't quite as good as say "American Beauty", it is pitched at the same level, treading the lines between straight comedy, satire and meaning-of-life navel contemplation.
Stephen E

I don't exactly see where the animosity for this film came from. I enjoyed it. So what if Pitt and Roberts were kept apart for most of the film? Does it really matter that much? Does it make the film terrible? No, not at all.
Cameron J

The movie slides off of its genre's beat a fair bit, but still deviates to some small cliches and isn't quite the tightest-edited. In spite of this, the film is still fairly clever, reasonably well-acted, entertaingly scored and very funny. As for these two stories, they… More
The movie slides off of its genre's beat a fair bit, but still deviates to some small cliches and isn't quite the tightest-edited. In spite of this, the film is still fairly clever, reasonably well-acted, entertaingly scored and very funny. As for these two stories, they have a fair balance and are both equally entertaining and strong in their casts and plots, keeping me from feeling disappoinment when they left me hanging on for the other story, but rather excited about them both. Of course, it does come to a bit more of a serious final act that does draw to a pretty solid conclusion. At the end of the day, "The Mexican" has its flaws, but is still a very entertaining and cool little flick I had a great time with.
Nicolas K

No consistency in the film and no clear direction of where it is going. The shiny cast is not capable to change the flaws of the film.
Joseph E

Did I like this film? Is that even a question you need to ask? One and a half star stars?
Stephen E

I don't exactly see where the animosity for this film came from. I enjoyed it. So what if Pitt and Roberts were kept apart for most of the film? Does it really matter that much? Does it make the film terrible? No, not at all.
Lea L

funny..
Sunil J

Good chemistry and I reallly thought James Gandolfini was interesting.
Sarah B

James Gandolfini! Okay, got that out of the way now. Despite the obvious lack of chemistry between the leads, this film is surprisingly quirky with an independent spirit, understandable considering the director. Julia Roberts is miscast not Brad Pitt, but there is so much more to this… More
James Gandolfini! Okay, got that out of the way now. Despite the obvious lack of chemistry between the leads, this film is surprisingly quirky with an independent spirit, understandable considering the director. Julia Roberts is miscast not Brad Pitt, but there is so much more to this film than that. The character studies are intense and compelling, the story makes many shifts, this film is a constant surprise.
Erin C

I love Julia and Brad, so I was super excited to see this. It wasn't all that great though :(
Lee K

boring boring boring i was so disaapointed expecially in jim gandolfini